78 
WONDERS OF THE TROPICAL FORESTS, 
are rather an imag© of decrepit old age than of the youtli- 
ful vigour which we admire in the growth of the palms. 
They do not seem to love tlie highest t^mperftttire of the 
equator, bat rather the milder climate of the inoGn- 
tainous regions near the tropics. Hero they frequently 
Btand singly in the thicket, particularly where a waterfall 
impregnates the air with moisture, or on the borders of 
sources and ponds. No parasites settle upon them, no 
bird constructs its nest amon"* their fronds, no quadruped 
burrows in the mouldy ground where they take root, even 
the ants disdain to buikl on theii" sapless stems, and thua 
they give the impression of friendless aliens in a con- 
vivial group. 
